Open AccessSynthesis of SO<sub>4</sub><sup>2–</sup>/ZrO<sub>2</sub> Solid Acid and Na<sub>2</sub>O/ZrO<sub>2</sub> Solid Base Catalysts Using Hydrothermal Method for Biodiesel Production from Low-Grade Crude Palm Oil
Author(s) -
Sri Setyaningsih,
Maisari Utami,
Akhmad Syoufian,
Eddy Heraldy,
Nasih Widya Yuwono,
Karna Wijaya
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
indonesian journal of chemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.273
H-Index - 14
eISSN - 2460-1578
pISSN - 1411-9420
DOI - 10.22146/ijc.65404
Subject(s) - catalysis , chemistry , transesterification , base (topology) , nuclear chemistry , biodiesel , biodiesel production , organic chemistry , mathematics , mathematical analysis
Biodiesel is a renewable energy source that can be produced through esterification as well as transesterification reactions. This work presents a series of zirconia catalysts synthesized by hydrothermal method on various concentrations in acidic (H2SO4 0.3, 0.5, and 0.7 M) and basic (NaOH 1, 2, 3, and 4 M) solution to get a catalyst with the highest acidity or basicity. Characterizations of the catalysts were performed by FTIR, XRD, SEM-EDX, surface area analysis, acidity, and basicity test. The most active acid catalyst activity was evaluated for the esterification of low-grade crude palm oil (LGCPO), while the solid base catalyst was utilized for the transesterification reaction. The solid acid catalyst of 0.7 M SO42–/ZrO2 60 °C; 24 h was denoted as the most active acid catalyst with a total acidity of 1.86 mmol g–1, while 4 M Na2O/ZrO2 60 °C; 24 h catalyst was considered as the solid base catalyst with the highest total basicity of 3.75 ± 0.12 mmol g–1. The optimized acid catalyst exhibited a 31 times higher acidity than commercial ZrO2. The concentration of free fatty acids (FFA) decreased to 68.87% in the esterification reaction. The solid base catalyst of 4 M Na2O/ZrO2 60 °C; 24 h successfully converted LGCPO into biodiesel by 68.55% through a transesterification reaction.